Fire Emblem: Online
by The Childish Psychopath
Summary: In the year 20XX, Intelligent System with the help of Paragon Interactive created a new Fire Emblem game in virtual reality. The game quickly became popular to the point it turned into a sport. Join Travis, a high school student who must gather a team of 4 to compete in the championship of Fire Emblem Online
1. A Noobs Beginning

Act 1, A Noobs Beginning

Somewhere in the deserts of Plagia, skeletal remains of different shapes and sizes littered the empty landscape, slowly being devoured by small drafts of sand. Once they are buried, more remains will take their place being an endless dumping ground for the dead. The area remains only occupied by bones and rocks for nobody dared to venture into the pit. Not even a fly or a lizard for they will burn from the sun's harsh rays that can heat up the hole in seconds. There was no exit, or any ways of escaping for the pit was deep for whatever enters never comes out. All things would remain quiet and forgotten, until now. Blood slowly dripped from its recent inhabitant, a white-haired tactician as he limped his way over to a whale's upside down ribcage to hide and take shade from the scorching sun that shines its burning rays.

"That axe took a chunk out of me." He said as he looked at his right shoulder. The gash was large, with spurts of blood dripping from the wound. Without a second thought, he pulled out his sword and cut his loincloth and sides before wrapping it around the spot.

'That should hold.' He thought. Before he could catch his breath, a roar blasted from the sky, getting the man's attention to find a flying beast circling the area. It's red piercing eyes scanned the area as it flapped its torn up wings. Thankfully it flew past him, not being able to see through all the bones and rocks that plague the landscape. However, he couldn't relax when he noticed no one was mounting the flying beast, meaning that the enemy must be on foot searching for him. A spark of fire burst from behind and blasted the bone, shattering it into small chunks of debris. The impact pushed the tactician to the sand. He groaned in pain from the fall and coughed at the sand in his mouth; before he rolled over to see his assailant. The dust dissipated revealing a woman with long purple hair flowing gracefully from the impact but still covering her right eye. She wore a black crown with horns pointing horizontal and revealing armor which exposed her cleavage and lower body covered only by her undergarments and purple loincloth. Her lips curved into a sick smile as she slowly began to walk towards her fallen prey, switching her time for her steel axe in both hands.

"How disappointing." She giggled. "I was expecting the little bird to give me more of a chase."

He pushed himself up and pulled out an Iron sword before rushed at her. As she tilted her body, the blade grazes her cheek, leaving a mark on her cheek. She swings her axe upward, making the tactician jump back. She chased after him as she swung her axe in every direction, swarming him with hard swings. Every clashed caused the blades to spark, and every slash caused Robin to move backward. He carefully observed her swings, waiting for an opening. Until he saw her left arm swing to the right, he locked his blade under the arch of her axe and pierced her stomach with all of his remaining strength. He breathed heavily in the aftermath, and lets go of the hilt, leaving his opponent stumbling backward, gripping on the sword to pull it out of her bleeding abdomen. He pulled out his book and flipped it open. As he breathed deeply, bolts of electricity began sparking and swirling around his hand and aimed at her.

"Thoron, Ignis!"

A swarm of blue and yellow strands of light blast, hitting her abdomen, launching her into a row of skeletal parts. The larger ones caught in the explosion toppled one after another, crushing Robin's opponent hidden in the debris. The dust cloud settled down, revealing chunks and pieces of broken bone, collapsed onto a pile above his dead opponent, who's lifeless hand stuck out, twitching a bit before finally giving in to her unfortunate demise.

Soon the sky on the right showed a sign that said "Game Set." And the world disintegrated into millions of pixels.

A whirring sound was heard before the pod opened up to reveal the round stadium before him. It was dark with the only light source to be the spotlights on the ground, the tv screens hanging on the ceiling displaying a replay of what happened, and strips of lights that were on the entrance ramp and the upper and lower stadium booths. As soon as the boy got out, he was joined by his friends and family that surrounded him, giving him with hugs and high-fives. He was then guided to a central entrance with a huge red light strip on the floor that acted as a red carpet. He and his friends followed it down the path that led outside in the night sky with the stars shining bright and more people cheering for their new champion behind the red rope. At the end of the pathway was a pedestal holding a replica sword with a gold hilt and a hole in the middle. They all went to the stage and surrounded the trophy. The four looked at each other and nodded before placing their hands on the handle. It was finally their moment, all the angst, the pain, and struggle has led them to the very moment they fought for. The boy's heart was pounding rapidly, and he wanted to remember this moment when pulls the sword out with his friends. He gripped onto the handle and pulled with all his might and his friends until-

"Travis, get out of bed!"

The shout along with the loud banging on the door caused him to jump and fall off his bed. "Ow!" He rolled over and rubbed his arm. All he could see was black before he lifts his body up to feel something drop from his head. He ignored it and rubbed his eyes until his vision cleared up. Surrounding him were dark gray walls with small rays of sunlight shining through his window covered by blinds. There was a cabinet filled to the brim with figurines and posters were plastered all over his walls. Most were fan arts of his favorite game, but the others were of different teams. One consisted of a girl in a black dress sitting on her throne with a priestess, knight, and mage by her sides. The other had four people cut and pasted on the poster, and finally, The last had people dressed up in leather and ripped clothes which made it look like a punk band poster. 'So it was just a dream...man it felt so real when I was about to pull out Falchion..'

"Your friend is waiting for you downstairs. Now hurry up."

Groggy from his sleep. He pulled himself off the floor and looked at the gray helmet that fell off his head during his rude awakening. 'Looks like I played too much VR. I wonder if I slept through a match?' Not having enough time to check, he made sure there were no dents from the fall before placing it on his desk. He then opened to back part of the helmet and took out the chip from the back and inserted it into his phone. He lazily put his black pants on and slaps on a plain white shirt. He then shoved the helmet in his backpack along with some books. The smell from below guided him down the steps to see the kitchen to his right. The walls were white which helped the lights shine brighter on the surface. He saw his mom placing an egg in a plastic container before putting the pan in the sink.

"Morning mom…". He yawned, brushing his eyes and blinked a few times.

"Morning." His mom replied and handed it to him the box. "I swear, that game is controlling your life."

Travis shrugged. 'I just explained it to you yesterday…'

"Mom, it's not a game, it's a sport." He defended after taking his box.

"Keep telling yourself that." She rolled her eyes and went back to cooking. "Now go before you're late."

"Right, thanks." He then went to the door and opened it to reveal someone waiting at the door. She had black pigtails and pale skin. She wore a white jacket and black bike shorts. Her brown eyes leered at him, making him feel like her sight stabbed him.

'Out of all the people I could piss off…..' Travis thought. "Uh...Morning Ayaka, whats up?"

"Morning to you too Travis."

"You know you could have waited inside."

"I would if your mom answered the door. Anyways, let's go." She walked off ahead of him to school, causing him to run after her.

"Hey, wait up!" He caught up and walked their way to school.

They both first met when her family moved from Japan to America. While she was a kind person, but mostly serious and the only person he knows who can't take a joke. It was hard at first to befriend her, but she warmed up to Travis when they were chosen or somewhat forced to work together on a project.

"So how are you?"

"I'm doing fine." She replied. "My arm is a bit sore from yesterday. What about you?"

"Well…." Travis paused for a moment. He tried to think of something other than I stayed up all night cooped up in my room. "Everything is great. You know me." He laughed uneasily.

"You look like you haven't slept in days."

"Wait how-"

"Your eyes are barely opening." She interrupted. "Have you at least been drinking water?"

Travis sighed. "Can't you two cut me some slack? It was hard to practice last night!"

"By playing video games all day? I can believe that."

'Great, this again.' Travis sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you Ayaka? It's not a game; it's a sport."

"Yeah, and I'm sure those free to play games on computers are too." She sarcastically stated.

Travis dragged his hand across his face. "FE online is not like that. It makes you physically move your body. Dodging, strategy and fighting are required to play!"

"Whatever."

He said nothing as he just walked in silence. Refusing to take more energy to explain it.

'I swear it's like I'm talking to mom again. If she was one of my friends.' He thought. No matter what he says to the two, they won't acknowledge it as a sport. Though on Ayaka's case, never took a liking to video games since she was an outgoing person, thanks to her family's hobbies.

The game originated from Nintendo's other popular series called Fire Emblem. It started out as a turn-based strategy on the NES, which later spawned sequels and spin-offs. Somewhere during the innovation of virtual reality by Paragon Interactives, Intelligent Systems created Fire Emblem Dimensional Collision, the game where people can fight other people physically in a virtual world. During development, the people were a bit skeptical about making Fire Emblem into a mass online battle arena game, and The elitists didn't make it better as some claimed that the game would ruin the series. Instead of moving a character like a chess piece, they had to play the character and battle in real-time. When it was finally released to the public, it had a bit of a rough start with only people playing are those who bought Paragons helmet console, the Linkwave, a helmet designed to connect your mind to the virtual world. Some Fire Emblem fans even tried it out and slowly all the doubt they had for the game had vanished. As a year went by, fans and virtual reality gamers started to invest their time into FE:O, soon becoming one of the most popular games in Paragons library, first above their Gundam

The quiet walk became awkward until Ayaka broke the trance. "Though personal feelings aside, how is it coming along?"

"It's going well," Travis stated. "My reflexes have been getting better during the summer. If I can get enough practice until December, I might be able to get into the tournament."

"You think you'll be able to get in this year?"

"I might. I still need to formulate a team of my own."

They finally made their way to school, entering through the entrance of the black gates. The building took up a width of the area and was reaching to about two stories tall with three front doors. The side of the pathways had small flower bushes with the center being a grass circle holding three flagpoles. They entered the building to find the students were scattered all over the gray hallways and the courtyard, conversing in topics. Most common was the game.

"Did you see how Kellam stealth killed him?"

"Alm the Thot slayer just got destroyed, you should have seen the look on that guys face when he got out."

"That girl who plays Noire is fucking nuts!"

"Can't wait for the next tournament, who are you rooting for?"

"Apex Predators is obviously going to win."

The two passed by and entered the room with a couple of students doing the same as the rest. One of them took notice of the duo and waved his hand. "Yo, Travis."

"Hey, Stephan," Travis called out and walked up to him. Ayaka stood behind Travis, showing a stoic look on her face.

"And you too as well Ayaka."

She rolled her eyes at him.

Stephan ignored her and focused on his other best friend. "How was your summer?"

"It was great," Travis answered. "How about yours?"

"Kinda sucks. You know you're lucky that you don't have to work at a restaurant for the rest of your vacation."

"Really? I thought you guys hired a new waiter?"

"We did, but dad fired him after he caught him stealing from us. So he asked me to fill in. Knowing him, he would force me anyways if I said no."

"You should be grateful." Ayaka scolded. "He does this because he cares."

He then turned to give her a wicked smirk. "Thanks for the insight. But it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Yeah, well you should. Not everyone like you owns a restaurant."

"You have no idea what it's like working there."

"You're right; I don't. But I respect my parents!

Travis just watched his two friends argue unamused. Even if he wanted to stop them, they wouldn't listen to him. Stephan, while not as bossy and judgemental as Ayaka, tended to complain about his life. He was a fun person to be around, but he isn't very supportive of certain situations. He didn't exactly like working at the restaurant, but then again he didn't like to do anything work-related. The differences cause the two to be at each other's throats. Whether it be lunch or going out somewhere, the two would always be fighting about anything like a couple. They manage to keep themselves from attempting to strangling each other because of Travis. As they argued, he began to think back on that dream. Camilla was dropping the axe on him, the counter-attack on her, and the trophy almost felt real to him. 'Perhaps it's a sign maybe?' He thought.

The bell rang thankfully, interrupting their fight. They looked at each other before taking their seats. Stephan sat on his desk next to Travis as Ayaka took the far back seat next to a group of girls. The teacher began his lecture, something that had to do with math though barely anybody paid attention. Thankfully the teacher wasn't the brightest so some of the students doodled or texted. Unless they were like Travis, check the stats of their characters, or opening loot boxes on their phones. His being male Robin, an amnesic tactician with a dark secret who serves the militia group called the Shepherds. He used his leftover attribute points and fed it all to magic and a little to defense. He began to set up his new deck consisting of whatever tomes and swords he had in his inventory. He spent the next hour opening leftover loot boxes in the game in hopes of getting a rare weapon. He sighed in disappointment with the results. 'Another pan, a stick and a pebble. But I got a Brave axe!….if Robin even uses axes.' Thankfully the unboxing killed time when the bell rang.

Everyone began to have lunch, connecting their desks to eat their pre-made food or leave in groups to buy theirs at the cafeteria. Travis handed Stephan his phone, showing him his stats and weapons loadout consisting of an Iron sword, a steel sword 20/20, and a Thoron tome 10/10.

"Not bad, you increase your magic skill." He stated as he scrolled through the phone. "Now you just need to get the Levin sword or Leo's ice blade."

"Yeah, and I got nothing from my loot boxes."

"Why don't you buy it single-handedly from the store? It's only 80 bucks."

"Stephan, not everyone has a job like you."

"I can just give you the money."

"Thanks, but I'll pass." A thought then popped into Travis's head. "Anyways, you think you would be able to join my team?"

"Can't Travis, as much as I want to, my dad still wants me to work. Besides, didn't you join one before summer?" He asked.

"I did, but I got kicked out."

Stephan looked baffled. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, it's his loss." Unaware to the two, there was someone who entered the room. But they would have ignored it either way. "Travis!"

'Oh great...him..' He slowly turned his head and saw a short brown haired boy next to him, standing above him. "Oh...Hi….Ken."

Stephan looked at Ken and back to Travis. "Seriously? You joined his team?"

"I'll explain later." Travis then pushed off his shoulder and looked at him. "What do you want?"

"Look I realized how kicking you out was a bad idea," Ken said and brushed the back of his head. "So I want to ask you back."

Travis raised an eyebrow. "I thought you told me you were going to look for someone better?"

"I did search, all of them….they just weren't fit to be on my team." He shrugged.

"Maybe because they were better than you." Stephan murmured.

"After a while, I just gave up and went to look for you. So, sorry about what happened Travis. Want to rejoin my team?"

"No," Travis stated bluntly.

"Oh come on Travis, you always planned the best strategies."

"Yeah, but we never use them."

"Okay, so we haven't followed plans. But we won every time! Isn't that all it matters?"

"I don't care if we win, you keep hassling me to make plans which wastes my time." Travis sighed, slowly growing annoyed with Ken's persistent attitude.

"Travis this time I promise, things are going to work out."

"Ken, can you take a hint? He said no." Stephan interrupted. "We know you're just baiting him because you can't find anyone else to sucker in."

"Hey, do you mind if you piss off!?" He sneered.

"Look Ken." Travis stood up from his desk to face his former leader. "I am forming my own team to compete in the championships."

"Wait, you're forming a team?" He snickered. "Don't bother Travis, no one's going to join. Just come back to us, it will save you the trouble."

"I'll form it eventually, even if it takes forever," Travis replied, standing his ground.

Ken went silent before an idea popped into his head. "Then Let's have a battle since you are so devoted."

"Wait, what?"

"I said battle me."

"But why?"

"Because I want to see if you can be a leader of your own team. You win, I'll stop pestering you. If I win, then you are returning to me."

Travis hesitated for a moment before looking at Stephan who just stood up. "Good luck buddy." He said and patted him on the shoulder before leaving.

"Some help you are.." Travis sighed. Just like many gaming communities, FE online could be toxic. Anyone who would play with complete strangers sometimes ends badly in team matches as the smallest misstep could turn a fighting game into a long series of verbal warfare between allies. But as of right now, this was a challenge, and the only option was to accept. Declining in front of people would tell them that he is weak and a coward. Seeing no way out of this, Travis took out his metal helmet and followed Ken outside to the computer room.

In a different room, a bunch of people in white robes were swinging their practice swords at their opponents and vice versa. They were dragging their feet forward on the white carpet for the offense or backward for defense. They have been fighting for a while with no rest. Their supervisor shouted. "Alright, that's enough for now!"

The fighters in the room stopped and took off their helmets. They stood in a row, facing their opposite and bowed.

"You guys did well." She said. "Dismissed." The students walked out of the classroom, leaving the club leader alone. 'Another day of training without any slip-ups. Just how I like it.' She changed back into her regular clothes and left the room. As she turned to walk down the hallways, she came face to face with Stephan.

"Oh...hi." She plainly said.

He sighed and gave up his smile, reverting it into a frown. "Look, I need help with something."

Ayaka studied his face. While she knew him mostly as disrespectful or immature, it was rare to see him serious. "What is it?"

"It's Travis….He's getting into a fight." Stephan said.

"What?" She asked, her voice having a little concern. He didn't have time to explain, so he pulled Ayaka's hand and ran with her down the hallways. She wouldn't be going with him usually, but on her mind was somewhere else. 'Travis, please be alright.'

They both made it to the entered the computer lab. The room consisted of a few computers on each wall but in the middle was a grey chair with black cushions on the surface. Their classmates surrounded Travis and Ken, watching them and the screen that said "Stabd by". He waved his hands in the air as his opponent did the same. Ayaka's worried expression changed to confusion.

"Um...what am I looking at?" She asked.

"Travis got challenged by the jackass Ken to battle."

"Wait...What did Travis do to piss him off?" She knew Travis was reckless, but she never saw him as arrogant.

"He didn't; he got kicked from Ken's team and now is being challenged to rejoin by battling in Fire Emblem." Ayaka turned her attention from the arena to Stephan and back.

She then glared at him. "If this isn't a real fight, then why the hell did you bring me out here for?!"

Stephan sighed. "I just need someone to help back me up after he loses. Knowing how Ken is at school, he's just going to be a major asshole. Just watch the fight, and when it's over, then we can help him."

In the arena, Travis was arranging his floating weapons slot with his inventory hovering next to him. 'An Iron sword and a killing edge will do.' He thought. He pressed the lock-in button with his opponent doing the same thing.

The screens disappear until a picture frame of Robin floated to the right as Ken's character Hinata, the retainer of the third in line prince of Hoshido Takumi on the left. The brown hair tied into a large ponytail and his arms were exposed showing muscles. He wore the samurai body armor as well as the arm and knee pads over his white pants. After the Vs. popping up in between portraits, a screen came from the top with scrambled images.

"THE BATTLE WILL TAKE PLACE IN, BANDITS CAVERNS, ZOFIA!" The announcer said.

With a bit of hesitation, Travis placed his hand on his character's portrait, causing the once again the screens to fade.

"THE BATTLE BEGINS IN

5

4

3

2

1

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

The metal plate covered the glass visor, and a rush of pixels began to shoot at his face and flashed white. The white flash subsided, and surrounding Robin was a massive cavern with lit torches. Stolen Boxes and barrels were pulled up in different sides of the cavern. Robin pulled out his Iron Sword and began to search for Hinata. The caverns were dimly lit with only a small piece of sunlight shining through the only hole in the cavern which illuminated the bridge. Has he made his way to the bridge, he slowly started to cross it, hoping not to get something thrown at him. "HEY TRAVIS!"

Robin turned his attention to the voice and saw Hinata who pulled out an Iron Katana.

Before he could react, Hinata dashed and took the first swing downward, forcing Robin to block. The Samurai locked blades and twisted it to the side, giving him the shoulder push. Robin almost lost his balance on the bridge but recovered using his sword to push him away from the narrow platform and on to more ground. Hinata rushed him again, this time swinging wildly. The first one slashed his shoulder as Robin went for defense again. He was pushed upstairs into a shrine made of stone. He struggled to deflect every attack for every block took a bit of energy to do. Hinata raised his sword in the air to slash down, but this gave Robin a chance to roll out of the way making the blade hit the ground. Now to return the favor, the Tactician swung his sword at the wild Samurai who got hit in the back, causing him to fall and roll the cold floor and hitting the pedestal which held a statue of a goddess. He got onto his feet and got back up, dusting his clothes off.

"Not bad Travis, not bad," Hinata said. "But that's not enough!"

Robin charged at him with his iron sword, swinging down at him. Hinata blocked it, letting him continuously slash at him. Every swing took as much energy from Robin as it did blocking. Soon, the tactician's arm began to strain in exhaustion from blocking the flurry of metal, clashing against the sword. Hinata took one final swing and finally broke through Robins defense, the samurai smirked and began slashing his katana at Robin with the final slash caused Robin to fall onto his bottom. He looked up and saw Hinata with a smug grin, pointing his Katana at him in victory before stabbing him in the gut, delivering the finishing blow. Everything in Robin's eyes flickered before he got the red words of defeat in his eyes. The area around them began to disintegrate, causing the room and themselves to disappear. Travis fell out of his seat the moment his helmet visor removed itself. He gritted his teeth in humiliation and anger.

'All that summer training and all night gaming. All the victories he achieved in the Link Visor. Why can't I beat him?!' He thought.

"Well, looks like I win as always Travis. You know the deal."

He looked at Ken with disgust before smacking his hand away. "You think I'm just going to go back to you after what you did to me?"

Ken glared at him, feeling a bit insulted that he didn't take his hand. "So what if you do suck Travis, it's not my fault you're the one always falling behind us!" He berated, finally showing his true colors.

Travis's eye began to twitch. Those insults started to bring back all of the memories of being on his team. The abuse, the neglect, all of those feelings made him curl his fingers into a fist. "There you go, forcing your problems on me! Whether it would be a plan, I conceived for you guys to ignore or that time when we never got any training in, and you blamed me for not reminding any of you! I'm not coming back to your team!"

"Travis, just shut up already!" Ken yelled. "Face it, you lost. Now you WILL fulfill your end of the bargain!

Travis went silent from his claim. Much to his discomfort, he didn't wish to go with Ken after everything. He could just up and leave, but Travis would feel the burden from the humiliation of defeat in front of every student. He has to go with him since he lost the duel. Just as he opened his mouth., Ayaka just went in front of him, facing Ken. "Hey! Why don't leave him alone!"

"Why don't you piss off?! This doesn't concern you." Ken growled.

"Travis's isn't going with you." She said.

"He lost girl! Now he has to join my team."

"Then go find someone else!"

Travis sighed, while he was thankful, he feels like this is making the situation worse than it already is. He placed a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "Ayaka, its fine." He said. "Ken is right, I lost so as promised, I have to join his team."

He then felt a push from her. "Ow! What the fuck Ayaka?!"

"Shut up and grow a backbone already Travis!"

Ken, however, watched Ayaka's behavior. His frown turned into a smirk. "You know what Travis? Forget what I said about joining my team now."

The two turned their attention back to Ken, Travis feeling a bit confused about his statement. "You," Ken gestured to Ayaka. "If you're going to defend Travis, how about you duel me, one on one."

Ayaka looked back at Travis before looking at Ken. "Sure, I accept your request."

"Alright," Ken snorted. "meet me at the Savado mall tomorrow." He began to walk away.

"Wait, why not now!?" Ayaka asked, confused about tomorrow.

Ken turned to her. "Are you an idiot? How can I fight you if you don't have a Linkwave? Come back when you have one noob."

He finally left, and soon the rest of the student's followed in suit. Ayaka became frustrated. "Linkwave? Why does that matter?!"

Stephan, who stood back from the conflict, rolled his eyes. "It's because he challenged you to Fire Emblem. You need it to play it."

Ayaka paused as she began to review what she saw. Travis and Ken were sitting in chairs with metal helmets, sitting there doing nothing. She then came to a realization. "Wait, but I don't have any of those!"

Stephen facepalmed. "Well, you are going to have to buy it if you want to play Fire Emblem."

"Can't I just use any of yours?" Ayaka asked.

Travis sighed. "You can't, and it's not because you are unable to, but Paragon's security is really strict. Logging on requires you to have both username, password, and worse, facial recognition."

Ayaka looked at him. "You're kidding me.."

"Looks like you are going to have to buy your own Ayaka," Stephen said.

"Great, now I have to waste money on these stupid games," Ayaka muttered and then looked at Travis. "Look, I'm doing this because I'm bailing you out of trouble."

She then turned around and left the school. Stephan and Travis looked at her as she exited through the double doors.

"Don't let the door hit you on your way out!" Stephan called out. "Hardass."

The sun began to set as Ayaka was heading towards home. "I can't believe I have to buy some game, just to fight some idiot." She muttered to herself. As she was heading to the shopping center, one of them had an arcade which also had the same gaming chairs back at the computer, along with the huge TV screen on the post.

'Was that there before?' She thought, and curiosity sparked. She walked towards the crowd of people who were cheering or watching.

"Kick his ass Sumia!"

"Pulverize her Titania!"

The men continued their shouting, shaking their arms in excitement. Ayaka's attention was soon at the two people behind with the grey helmets on and sitting in the chairs. She then moved her gaze to the screen which showed two completely different people fighting. She studied both of them on display, the fighters brawled it out on screen.

'Is this what everyone is excited about?'

She noticed the one with the spear driving the spear into the one with the axe. The group clapped and cheered as the one who was victorious. The defeated just got out, rubbing his chest from the wound that was never there.

'Honestly, it looks kind of fun.' She thought. Admittedly, she never really took the time to observe what the game was like. All she ever knew was from the news that it was the newest hot game for players. She was always busy with her other hobbies like working out or helping her family. 'But it's just a game, I'm only doing this to bail him out.

She saw a blonde girl with a braided up tail. She tapped her shoulder causing her to jump and face her.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but how does it work?"

The girl gave her a skeptical look. "Well um….". She paused to think about what to say. "Well, the helmet created a nurelink to your brain, allowing you to enter some sort of virtual reality Paragon creates. Is this your first time joining?"

Ayaka nodded. "Sort of, where can I get one of those helmets?"

 **A/N: Wow, that took longer than I thought. So yeah, this is my new Fire Emblem Story. This was all inspired by an old TCG called Chaotic where players enter virtual reality doms to battle against other players by turning into their favorite monsters. I thought of this idea for Fire Emblem considering their large roster of characters. I believed its turning out great, but please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

 **Update 1: I corrected a few things and tweeted a few things to make sure they all fit in.**


	2. The Rise Of The Swordmaster

Act 2. The Noob Swordmaster

As soon as Travis was finished eating, he was about to go out to school. He thought about what Stephan said of just buying in-game currency instead of trying his luck at loot boxes If he wanted his Levin Sword.

At school, he saw Ayaka wearing the Linkwave. As she was moving her hands around the air, she took off the helmet and then put it back on again.

"I see you got the Linkwave," Travis said to her.

"Yeah, and already I'm having issues with it out of the box." She stated, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"It's eye straining!"

"You can change the settings to calibrate your sights."

"Then where are the options?"

"They are at the button with three horizontal bars."

Ayaka raised her hand and tapped it and began setting it.

"What's your username?"

"Swordmaster90."

Soon, a text box on her right corner with a cartoon owl flapping its wings. "scaletipper505 sent you a friend request." The box said.

Ayaka pressed the tab and hit yes. Travis got a notification on his phone saying "Swordmaster90 has accepted your friend request." As soon as he continued to tutor her about the lobby, Stephan came in.

"So, how's our noobie doing?" He asked.

"I'm doing fine, no thanks to you." Ayaka groaned.

"So, we should have the starter pack characters in the heroes selection," Travis explained. Ayaka saw a blue chest with gold outlines, and a floating key appeared in front of her. She grabbed the key and opened the chest, showing up ten characters in front of her. She looked at them curiously, swiping through the ten character portraits.

"Knight, Priestess, some little kid, and another knight, some stripper."

"Woah there Ayaka," Stephan said holding out his hands. "Careful what you say around here. Not everyone takes their character being called that too lightly. Unless they are from Fates, then fuck'em."

Ayaka shrugged, not understanding what he means and looked through more portraits until one caught her attention. "Guys, who is this?"

"Can you describe it? We can't see what you see."

"She has dark green hair that's tied up in a ponytail, light blue cheongsam dress with a brown sash around her waist, and she's holding a weird Katana."

Travis's mind clicked. "Ah, you chose Lyndis! The heir to the Lorca tribe and lord class! That is a perfect fit for you!"

"The what tribe?"

"A tribe that lives in the middle of nowhere," Stephan interjected.

"Look it doesn't matter, I think Lyn is perfect for you!" Travis said. "You perform Kendo techniques and Lyn uses Katana like weapons!"

Ayaka paused. "Alright Travis, I'll take your word for it."

Travis continued to tutor her about classes and weapons, even about what characters weapon preferences are.

"Now when you enter the arena, you will have a heads up display which will be in your eyes. On the bottom right will have skills telling you about. Some are passive, but active ones like Astra are your special ability. You can charge it faster by fighting or defending, once it hits 100, shout it out to use it. Don't forget that your weapons higher than rank E have usage and every time they hit, the counter will go down until the weapon breaks. D's have 20, C's have 15, B's are 10, and A has 5." As Ayaka watched him ramble on about the rules and such, she had her thoughts elsewhere. She had the confidence to defeat Ken, but her issue was with the Linkwave. She never touched a game in her life, and it felt unnerving, almost like experiencing riding a bike for the first time. Class started as the teacher rambled on and on about history. After the teacher finished rambling, Ayaka made a day off note for her club headed out. As she placed it on the sliding door, a couple of students, she knew walked up to her.

"Hey, Ayaka!" One of them called out. "Whats going on?"

"The Kendo club is taking a day off," she said. "I have some things to take care of."

"Yeah I bet, I hope you beat Ken."

"We will be rooting for you at the mall." One of the boys said.

One of them, a girl placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll do great cap, maybe you should give him one of your brutal lessons."

The girls giggled, and Ayaka felt somewhat relieved but a little bothered. "Thanks for the support…..I think I'll need it."

Afternoon hit and the students began leaving the school, Ayaka, Travis, and Stephan started to head out for Savado, one of the few malls that were close to town and one of the most popular. It was a ten-minute walk, and the building was blaring its lights as usual. It was huge, with lights continually blinking on the walls, shade, and letters like it was a casino. As they made their way, they saw Ken with two of his teammates. One of them was a bit skinny and had a black hoodie over himself while the other one was husky, wearing a larger shirt to fit him and jeans.

"Look who made it," Ken smirked. "Hope you don't get disappointed when I stab you."

Ayaka rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

The mall inside was tame with white clean tile floors thanks to machines rolling on the floor, scooping up trash it sees. It was two levels up, and advertisements were flashing all over the place ranging from clothing to drinks. The group followed Ken at one of the arcades. The room was beige thanks to the walls and the lights mixing in with the room. Arcades blared out from every part of the room. They passed by to the group of gaming chairs with helmets. Some of Ayala's club mates were their, watching them with anticipation. Behind the red rope was a man was wearing a blue shirt with a name badge of the arcades logo and another symbol with a Red Hexagon with two smaller ones on the P of "Paragon."

"Chips?" He asked them, and Ken held out his chip with Ayaka confused. Stephan pointed at her helmet.

"It's the thing that holds our profiles and data, it's a convenient way to carry around the game without the hassle of carrying around the helmet. In the back of your helmet, there should be an opening there." She then pulled out the helmet and saw a latch at the back. She pulled it open and took out the chip that looked like Ken's, holding it out to the employee. The man pulled the rope away, allowing the two to enter.

"Can I go with her? It's her first time playing." Travis asked. Then employee nodded allowing him to get near where she is sitting.

Ayaka looked at what Ken did as he placed the chip inside the helmet. She followed what he did and sat in the chair, letting the helmet fall onto her head. Everything started booting up with the words "standby" and a loading screen on her glass visor. After it said "Complete" It showed up a 3D podium with a massive roster of characters to the right.

"WELCOME TO DEATHMATCH! PLAYERS, PREPARE YOUR STATION FOR A 1 ON 1 MATCH!" A mechanical voice said, causing Ayaka to jump.

"What was that?!"

"Oh, that's 6R1M4."

Ayaka looked at Travis, confused by the scrambled numbers and letters of a name. "Well, we all call him Grima. It's the monitor for every match, flawlessly catches anyone or anything bad happening."

She looked at Ken who was looking at the characters and picked one by waving his hand. She soon did the same, looking through the roster of any unlocked character that was hers. She soon found Lyn and added her to the podium. The next screen changed to two knobs. Travis explained to her that blue was the weapons selection, and the white knob was the compatible class selection.

"I would recommend the Sol Katti." He said. Ayaka looked through the weapons and found it. She instinctively dragged it to her weapons list.

As she continued to browse, she saw a kodachi and added it to her slot. Now onto classes, she looked around only seeing Swordmaster, and Blade Lord seals available. She remembered something about Travis talking about Astra for the Swordmaster and chose that class. After finishing, she pressed the Lock-in button with Travis doing the same.

"LOCKED IN, THE BOARDS HAVE BEEN REVEALED."

"Goodluck." He said before joining the brunette.

Ayaka breathes a bit slowly, trying to calm herself down. "You guys keep telling me to calm down...yet, to be honest, it just makes me more nervous."

"SEARCHING FOR LOCATION." The screen appeared before them scrambling through the maps like a slot machine.

"THE BATTLE WILL TAKE PLACE IN...ARENA FEROX, REGNA FEROX. THE MATCH BEGINS IN

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

The metal plate covered her eyes as pixels began to rush her. Ayaka was blinded by the bright light that flashed before her. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was no longer in the arcade but instead in some old rundown stadium made of stone. The said arena is made of stone with broken chunks missing and small cracks. It was also underground as there were torches lit all around the seating area and the entrances. The only source of sunlight was the crack above He stadium ceiling with bits of snow falling. She then looked at her gloved hand and then her attire. She wore blown boots that covered her legs with fur on the top. She wore a green short sleeve green dress and wore a magenta obi around her waist. Over her dress was a blue coat hanging below her legs. She also felt some weight on her shoulders as she wore grey samurai shoulder pads with fur at the bottom.

She did what Travis told her and held out her open right hand to her left hip. She soon a floating screen showed up, showing her the weapons that she chose. She moved her thumb up, and it highlighted the Sol Katti. She gripped her hands, and suddenly she was holding something. She pulled it out and saw the sword that was in her hand. She saw it strangely; it's unusual design, the gold color, and the red gems that were on the hilt. She also looked at her reflection and noticed she was Lyndis.

"This is...interesting," Ayaka said and was unnerved by the sudden tone change in her voice. "Wow, that's weird…"

"Hey! Are you going to keep gawking or are you gonna fight?!" Hinata said from behind and launched himself at her and swung his Iron Katana. Ayaka, now Lyndis heard the voice in time and blocked the sword with her own. She pushed him back with a kick in his gut. She positioned herself and held Sol Katti with two hands. Hinata then launched himself again this time swinging his sword at her. However, she was unimpressed at the swings that he threw at her at her. She could easily block them with without a sweat.

'How did Travis lose to this guy. His swings his sword with one hand and his stance are horrible.' She thought. 'I can't let my guard down, Never know what he can do."

She side dodged and slashed at his back. Hinata fell over but recovered. He groaned from the pain as he rubbed his back. He then changed weapons to a Raider Katana. It was long with smaller blades jutting out from the bottom, creating hooks. Ayaka looked at it with surprise. 'What the hell?!' She thought before Hinata jumped and slammed his blade onto her golden one. However, because of the force of his swing, she was stabbed in the shoulder. She grunted in pain as the small hooks yanked on her punctured shoulder. The sword was pulled back, sawing through her shoulder and yanking Sol Katti with it. Hinata smirked and pointed his Raider Katana with the hooks dripping with her blood.

'Damn, I got careless…'. Lyndis growled as she felt a sharp pain from her shoulder wound. The pain felt so real, yet at the same time, her heart was racing. But then there was another feeling. Her heart was racing and her breathing was rapid. It felt so overwhelming yet satisfying. She chose her next weapon; a small katana called he "Nodachi." Hinata laughed.

"You're going to fight me with that?! You're screwed!" He then swung at her horizontally again, this time Lyndis back stepped, giving her some room for her to think.

'I can't block anything with a kodachi! Especially against a sword like that!' Ayaka thought. 'I have to play this safe…'

She saw Hinata run at her with the Raider sword like a madman. Lyndis however, was observing where he would swing. With the size of a sword like that, how much weight does it have?" She saw him swing to the upper left. She dodged to the left, causing Hinata to miss and hit his blade on the floor. Lyndis then stabbed his arm with the small sword and then slashed his chest, causing himself to stumble back. She then ran and threw the Nodachi at him, and he blocked the small Katana with his sword. Lyndis retrieved her Sol Katti from the floor and raced at Hinata. The male samurai barely had time to react and tried to block every swing from Sol Katti. Hinata pushes the sword away from with a lot of force, causing Lyndis to stumble. Hinata smirked and went to swing down at her with the Raider Katana. Lyndis saw the blade coming her way and moved the left to avoid the swing. She took the opportunity to slash twice at his chest, causing him to stumble and drop his Raider Katana.

Suddenly, she saw on the right side of her eye, a circle portrait with three green shooting stars. She figured it was time to try it out since she cut him pretty badly. She sheathed her Sol Katti and rushed at Hinata while he tried to pull out his Iron Katana.

"Astra!" She shouted and her sword has 5 glowing spots on the blade. She ran up and slashed once at him while dashing past him. She then sheathed back the sword, and with one click from concealing her sword, five slashes made late gashes from her opponent. Hinata dropped his Katana and fell to his knees. He could barely feel his body moving and fell forward, his face hiring he cold stone floor.

Soon the screen on her interface said "Victory" and the room around them disintegrated back into pixels. As she got out of the chair, and station, her clubmates and friends surrounded her, congratulating her on her victory. Stephan patting her on the back. "Hey, not bad for your first go eh?"

Ayaka was about to open her mouth to say something until she heard someone fall to the floor. She turned to see Ken who fell on his knees after yanking himself from his chair. He got up and glared at Ayaka. "You fucking cheater!" He yelled. "That was so unfair! I fucking had you!"

Stephan rolled his eyes. "Ken quit being a little bitch, you lost."

"I would have won if I kept my cool! I demand a rematch!"

Ayaka growled and went up to Ken with anger in her eyes. She pulled him by the shirt and stared down at him. "Listen here jerk! You challenged ME of all people! YOU wanted to fight me! I beat you fair and square, so get over it!" She then shoved him away from the group. Kens "Friends" pulled him up with him shrugging them off.

"This isn't over, you hear!?" Ken snarled before leaving. Soon, everything around them went silent. Ayaka's clubmates said their fair well to her before heading their separate ways. The remaining three walked towards the nearest convenience store and got some drinks. Ayaka only got a water bottle and began to head back home with the two.

"So, enjoyed your first match?" Stephan repeated. Ayaka took a chug of her water bottle.

"It was...surprising," Ayaka said. "I mean, I got some previews here and there but-" She then paused as she rubbed her right shoulder where she was supposedly "cut." But her brain keeps telling her that her shoulder is sore, but she didn't feel anything, not even the cut from the game.

Travis smiled. "Don't worry, we all had to go through "Virtual shock" when we started playing."

"Virtual shock?" Ayaka asked.

"It's when your brain gets confused about what's real and what's in VR."

The three eventually made it to Ayaka's house and was just about to enter.

"Hey, Ayaka." Travis said, getting her attention. "Thanks for bailing me out."

Ayaka nodded. 'Anytime."

As Ayaka walked into her house and immediately went to her room to lay down. Her room with some sports trophies and medals hanging from her light grey walls. She had pictures of when she won her first tournament and some books on the table. She began to think about what happened. Today was so interesting, her first taste of the Linkwave. She looked at the helmet that was on her desk as she reminiscence on her first battle. The cold wind that brushed her skin, the stone floor, and the "Injures" she experienced was all so real. She always thought of Fire Emblem Online to be another game for kids to play. While she was aware of how it became a sport, she was somewhat skeptical about it, even when she got her first preview on what the game was. Her opponent Ken, even though he was a tough player, he was an amateur when it came to combat. She could have easily avoided that multi-hook sword had she be aware of the weapons from the game. But in the end, she defeated him with ease as his skills as a swordsman was a dead give away of an amateur. She then thought about what he said when looking for good teammates. From what she experienced so far from Fire Emblem Online, she was starting to have second thoughts about it just being a "video game." As he said, "It's not just a game, it's also a sport."

She then picked up her phone and began to call Travis.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Hey Travis, do you still have openings on your team?"

 **A/N: Thank you for the positive feedback I got from this story. I was really skeptical of myself to post something like this to Fire Emblem. I do apologize for taking a little longer, I had to edit some things in the first chapter to fit into what was going on in chapter two. But either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will see you on the next one!**

 **Updates: I also updated some things in chapter one to fit into chapter 2.**


	3. From Waiter to Archer

Act 3. From waiter to Archer.

Stephan's alarm buzzed wildly forcing him to get up. He smacked the clock to silence the repeated ringing and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the time, five o'clock AM. 'Time to open up.' He sighed and stood up. He went to his closet and put on jeans and a black shirt. He then snapped his name badge and headed downstairs. He heard a loud crash from downstairs along with some voices. 'Did we get a new waiter?' He thought.

As he made his way downstairs, he saw a man wearing a chefs uniform scolding the waiter with a pile of broken dishes and food.

"Bart, this is the third time you dropped the order!" A man groaned in frustration. "I'm trying hard to give you chances, but this is getting ridiculous."

"I'm sorry, there was so much-"

"Don't apologize, go serve the ones we still have!"

The waiter walked off to get the other orders as the man with brown hair covered his face, trying to calm down. The kitchen was buzzing, with chefs cooking and ringing the bell, along with waiters who come back and forth to serve dishes. All is the same, the smell of breakfast and sweating men in the air, and the metal tables and kitchenware were spotless. The man behind the counter saw Stephan and smiled. "Ah, son, ready to start your day?" He asked.

"As if you needed to ask," Stephan said with a sigh. He put on a black apron and began serving dish after dish to the waiting customers, who were relieved to get there order after a long wait. Once things began to settle, Stephan looked at the time. 'Nine o'clock,' He thought. "2 hours left before my shift ends.' As he went to take more customer orders, he spotted Ayaka and Travis, sitting in one of the booths talking. He then passed by the other customers and straight to the two.

"Hey, what's up?" He spoke to the two.

"Stephan, great news," Travis said. "Ayaka has joined my team!"

"Yeah?" He looked at Ayaka who was more focused on the menu. "So, is it more than just a "Game" to you, Ayaka?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not answering that."

Stephan ignored her and looked at Travis. "What can I get you guys?"

After placing their order, Stephan entered the kitchen putting the order down by the window. Thankfully it was not a long wait as two milkshakes, vanilla for Ayaka, and chocolate for Travis. He soon returned with their beverages and placed them on the table.

"By the way," Travis spoke out. "When you get off work, you think you might be able to help me out with something in FE: DC? I want to get Ayaka familiar with the classes."

Stephan looked at Travis and then looked at Ayaka, giving her a smile that a cheesy villain from a comic book would display. Ayaka cringed at the sight of that smile.

"Getting familiar with the classes eh?" He snickered.

An hour finally passed, mostly with Stephan spending his time in the break room for thirty minutes after serving the customers food. He then clocked out and gathered his things before he left with the two. As they made it to Travis's house, they headed upstairs for his room. Stephan looked at the four posters that plastered the wall.

"Are those recent posters of the champions?"

"Yeah, I just recently got them!" Travis exclaimed.

Stephan smirked. "Wow, unwilling to pay for a Levin Sword but can still pay for posters."

"Hey, I had to pay 40 dollars for them each!" Travis argued, embarrassed by his choices. Sure they were of the same people, but it was still worth it, right?

"Guys?" Ayaka said, breaking off their conversation.

The two placed their Linkwave helmets on, Ayaka following in suit. Travis began to set up a private server and invited the two. The owl on the right corner had the number 1 as it flapped its wings. Stephan and Ayaka pointed at the owl and got a message saying "scaletipper505 has invited you to a private match."

They both pressed yes, and their names were on a versus list. "Swordmaster90 Vs. Perfectshot." It said, with the other as "Spectators: scaletipper505." The map rotator appeared, showing their location.

 **THE BATTLE WILL TAKE PLACE IN**

 **ICY WASTELAND, ILIA**

 **A BEAUTIFUL BUT HAZARDOUS LOCATION OF ELIBE.**

 **BATTLE BEGINS IN**

 **5**

 **4**

 **3**

 **2**

 **1**

 **BATTLE START!**

* * *

The harsh breeze blew through the night in the frigid land. The evergreen trees swayed heavily, and their branches shook violently by the storm. Snow continuously and slowly piling up from the endless winter that occurs in the north throughout Ilia. Lyndis trudged through the snow, her arms wrapped around herself, trying to keep warm from the cold but to no avail. Her exposed legs worsen her travel as she felt the endless drafts of wind and scraping her skin against the snow pile. As she breathed heavily, she could see her breath cloud and dissipated.

'Did...did they have to make it this realistic?!' She thought. 'My fingers and legs feel so numb in this cold..'

But just as she thought she was going to travel the snowy wasteland forever, she saw a light in the distance. She used her right hand to pull out her Sol Katti. She winced at the touch of the cold handle but tried her best to ignore the freezing pain. She continued to walk toward the light. As she slowly got close, the view slowly was clear to her; the source was revealed to be a lamp, hanging on the roof of the log cabin In front of her. Right now, she thought about just going inside to keep warm from the harsh weather. But at the same time, that could be the enemy waiting inside for her. Regardless, she must proceed with caution. She hid beneath the window, making sure that no one if anyone inside saw her. She then moved to grab the door handle. She then pulled the handle swung the door open violently. She waited and waited, but nothing happened. She then slowly leaned herself from the side.

Inside was a small table with books scattered everywhere, a deer's head mounted on a wall, a small bed that looked nicely prepared, and a fireplace with the flames illuminating the room. No one was inside, so Lyndis went inside and closed the door. She sighed in relief; the heat relieves of her from the severe torture she endured. She walked towards one of the windows and looked outside. The glass was covered in frost, so it made it hard to see. She used her hand to wipe some off to get a better view. In a flash, a shadow popped out from the tree and fired a projectile at her. The arrow shattered the glass and pierced Lyndis in her shoulder, pushing her down on the wooden floor.

"Shit!" She grunted in pain. "He was waiting for me this whole time!"

A shatter was heard from the outside, followed by a bright light coming from the side of the window. Another sound of broken glass came from the other side of the house.

'Bastards trying to bury me in here!' She removed the arrow from her shoulder with a hard pull. She needed to escape the burning demise that would cave her in if she didn't get out. But the chances of the archer waiting for her to shoot her in the head are great. She didn't have much of a choice as she burst open the door and onto the snow. The cabin was in a blaze when she turned around.

She immediately stormed into the trees, with the freezing torture returning to her body. Lyndis didn't care; she had to run and find this archer. As she ran by, an arrow penetrated the tree she passed by.

'He's still on me!' She thought. 'But he also gave out where he is!'

Lyndis began to sprint towards the direction of the where she was almost shot. She began to weave around the trees, giving herself cover from any of the projectiles that were fired at her. As she got closer, she started to hear a voice.

"Shit! Hold still damnit!" A male voice yelled. Lyndis got a view of her opponent. He had blond hair and light skin along with a white bandana as the rest of his clothing was red. He wore a long scarf that covered his brown chest and shoulder plate with a red coat underneath it. He also had one short leather glove on his left and a gauntlet

on his right. Unlike Lyndis however, he wore white pants and long leather boots.

Lyndis took her chance and ran up to him as she was within range. She slashed down at him, only for the blade to be blocked by the bows large gap.

"You sure took your sweet time!" He growled and kicked Lyndis away. She glared at him, looking at his attire.

"Hey! How come you get to wear clothes for the snow, but Lyndis doesn't?!" She asked.

He smirked at her. "Hey, not my fault Jeorge is fit for this kind of condition."

Lyndis dashes at him to swing at him again. Jeorge stepped back, dodging and weaving from her blade. He pulled out another arrow and cocked it back. As soon as the Sol Katti swung at him again. He rolled under it and released. The arrow punctured Lyndis in the gut causing her to cough and fell to her knees. Her stomach churned as the arrow jabbed into her abdomen, she almost felt like throwing up. The pain was unbearable, but she struggled to get up. Jeorge wasted no time and shot another arrow at her, causing her to fall with another arrow now on her chest. Lyndis struggled to breath, looking at the waving trees before releasing one last breath and blacked out.

* * *

As the game gave Stephen his stats, he immediately took off the Linkwave. Ayaka, however, ripped off the helmet and began to feel where she was hit from. She sighed in relief as once again, she was not hurt.

"Gotta get used to that virtual shock Ayaka."

"Hey, I almost had you!" She growled. "If it wasn't for the stupid weather of Iowa or whatever they hell they called it!"

"Woah! Someone's salty as fuck."

As soon as the bickering began, Travis rolled his eyes and headed downstairs to get some water. After a bit of bickering, their conversation died down. Ayaka and Stephan sat their silently, not looking at each other. The quiet room made it made it uncomfortable, like waiting in a therapist room that's filled with bizarre things that make sitting in said room awkwardly.

"Stephan," Ayaka said. "Why didn't you help Travis when he was in trouble?"

"Why did I not help?" He asked

"That was some good swordplay though." Stephen said.

"...Thanks...I guess." Auska murmured. "Are you going to join his team?"

"I would….but I can't," Stephan said. "My dad has a huge schedule for me to fill in….the new waiter isn't doing so well."

"Haven't you trained him?"

"Yeah, but Bart is a klutz, can barely hold a trey straight."

"If you really want to join….you should." Ayaka said. "At least ask your dad."

Stephan smirked. "Wow, Ayaka, that's a first, you inviting me and all."

"Don't push it Stephan. The only reason I'm asking is because….can't believe I'm saying this...your archery skills are...beneficial."

"Thanks." He then looked at the posters. "I just hope he doesn't say notice the whole thing."

"I'm sure it will be fine...at least for your sake."

After telling Travis about the new potential teammate, the three immediately headed back to the diner. It was after hours, and the sign saying "Alburns diner" lit up with the colors of blue, yellow and red almost looking like an 80's restaurant. Stephan looked at the two, but Travis was the only one to nod. He entered the building, causing the bells to ring. Thankfully, the dining hall was vacant, tables and chairs are cleaned, and most of the lights were off. He saw a bright light coming from the kitchen. His father was cooking something on the pan, and he added some of the spices he was surrounded by.

"Hey, dad?" Stephan called out.

"Ah, son, back from Travis's? Good, hey can you taste this dish I'm making? I call it, Alburnium!"

Stephan rolled his eyes at the name and looked at what's cooking. It was a slab of charred steak, mixed with caramelized onions and mushrooms. Stephan took a bite and immediately coughed out the piece in the trash can. "Tastes like shit."

His father tried it next and swallowed it like it was nothing. "Needs less paprika."

"Dad, can I tell you something?"

"Not now son, what I'm trying to do is kinda important."

"No seriously, I really need to talk to you about this."

His father sighed and turned off the stove. "Alright son, what is it?"

"So yeah, I appreciate you and stuff…." Stephen hesitated for a moment.

"Stephen if there is something on your mind, just tell me."

"Yeah….I'd like to quit temporarily."

"Quit?"

"Yeah, I'm joining my friend's team on Fire Emblem: Dimensional Collision, and I want to quit a bit to practice on the team."

"Wait, So you're telling me that you are going to stop being my waiter in favor of video game sports?"

Stephan nodded, he was prepared, mentally for some kind of scolding from his-

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO!"

Or not. Stephan looked at him surprised, his father had a face of an ecstatic chef. "Wait, So your not mad?"

"Mad! No way! In fact, this is great!"

"Oh good." Stephan sighed in relief. "And here I thought-"

"It can drive up our business!"

"And there's the catch…"

His father left the kitchen and then came back with a large box. He opened it and pulled out a shirt with the restaurant symbol on it. "Wear this shirt so we can advertise! Think of this as your teams first sponsor!"

Stephan looked at the shirt in his hands, dumbfounded and a bit peeved. "Well, it could be worse."

"Also, I might need you to train Bart, make he does his job without dropping anything."

Stephan felt like screaming in frustration, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was, "Sure…"

"Good luck son! Make sure you tell everyone about us!"

As Stephan left, he saw Ayaka and Travis waiting for him.

"What did he say?" Travis asked.

"He said yes….as well as wear this stupid shirt." He showed it to them, and Ayaka looked at him.

"So? It's just a shirt."

"And I have to train that Bart guy to be my replacement!"

Ayaka almost snickered at those two statements. "Well, at least it's time to be a responsible son."

"Shut up Ayaka.."

 **A/N: Finally! Anyways, I do apologize for not getting to this sooner, college has been trying to kill me lately, and I haven't had any time to work on this. Either way, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all in the next one.**


	4. The flightless pegasus rider

Act 4. The flightless pegasus rider.

"Alright, I want you all to read pages 20 to 27 by tomorrow. We will be having a quiz."

The students began to pack their things and prepared to leave the class for lunch. Travis was still at his desk, looking at his phone while swiping his fingers. He was looking through the hero roster in the app, looking for anyone that could balance out his team.

"Hey, you're still on that?" Stephan asked.

Travis tensed up, snapping out of his thoughts and looked up. "Um yeah, so far the only thing I can come up with is an Axe wielder or maybe a flying unit, wyvern or pegasus can work."

"Wait I'm sorry," Ayaka said. "Look, I know this is a medieval fighting game, but Pegasus and wyverns? I thought those were fairy tales?"

Stephan scoffed. "Looks like someone hasn't done their research."

"Stephan, not everyone grows up with video games, let alone have all time on an everyday basis!"

"Big deal, I have a job and I can make time for-"

"Guys!" Travis interrupted, causing the two to stop arguing. "Look, I just need one more player in this group and then we can enter one of the tournament."

"Don't you know anyone else aside from us Travis?" Ayaka asked.

"That's where I ask you guys actually. Out of you two, I don't know anyone else who plays it."

"Well, I do have a cousin who plays," Stephan said. "But trust me, you don't want him on the team?"

"He can't possibly be worse than you." Ayaka scoffed.

"No trust me." He insisted "He is salty as fuck, he will constantly throw tantrums after losing, and if he wins he'll talk shit to you. Then again he is fourteen."

"Wow, that almost sounds like you."

"Hey! At least I don't bitch whenever I get my head cleaved in!"

Ayaka rubbed her temple, but then it hit her. "We should look for a club aboout Fire Emblem, there may be someone there who would be willing to join."

"That's right, I forgot we had club fair a weeks ago! Though I don't think they appeared." Travis said. Ayaka went to on her phone and pulled up a list of clubs. Travis scrolled through the roster and then found one.

"Fire Emblem Battle Buddies." Travis read, causing Stephan to snicker.

"That's a dumb name." 

Ayaka glared at him before looking back at Travis. "We should probably check it out later, it's an afterschool club anyways."

The day flew by as evening hit. The students began to head home while others stayed behind for clubs, mostly sports. Travis, along with Stephan and Ayaka, followed the map to the classroom A-5. This had to be it, there was no other club with the title Fire Emblem. Travis opened the door to find an empty classroom. There was a table adorned with some silver or bronze trophies, even copper. What caught Travis's interest was the picture frame in the middle of the medals. The image consisted of a girl with a braided blonde tail with three other guys with a bronze trophy.

"Dang, all these trophies and not a single platinum or even golden," Stephan commented. He attempted to pick up one of them up.

"Don't. Touch. The trophies!" A voice said from the back of the classroom. They turned their attention to the man sitting behind the desk, reading and typing on his laptop.

 _Was he there the whole time?_ Travis thought. "Um excuse me, is the Fire Emblem club?"

"Yeah." Was all the teacher said with a hint of boredom.

"Where are the rest of the members?"

"You're early." Again, the teacher replied with disinterest.

Travis looked at the two. Stephan shrugged and looked at Ayaka.

"I guess we could...wait?" She suggested. They sat down at the desks and began to pass the time by educating Ayaka about the lore of Fire Emblem. Well, Travis was the one explaining the lore and weapons while Stephan was on his phone. Ayaka listened with intent, noting in her mind that a Killing Edge in this game recharged your special faster rather than give a high chance of activating the special, or that Lyndis''s lord class can give her a secondary weapon which is the bow and arrow.

Suddenly the door opened slowly, and a voice called out. "Um hello?"

The three turned to see a girl with the same braided hair like the one in the photo, only with glasses.

Travis got out of the seat and she entered the room completely.

"Sorry to randomly intrude like this," Travis said. "But um are you a member here?"

"I Uh...I'm yeah, I'm a member." She said shyly.

"Oh cool," Travis said. "So is there a president we can speak to about joining?"

"I-I'm also the president." She said.

"Oh well alright then," Travis said. "I'm Travis, and this is my friends Stephan and Ayaka. We were wondering if we could join the club."

"Wait...Ayaka?" The captain seemed to not hear the request and instead walked to his Kendo friend. Stephan snickered as Ayaka sighed, knowing what she is going to ask. "Aren't you the one who….uh..beat up Kenny?"

"Ugh Yeah," Ayaka confirmed. Ever since that day when she defeated Ken, word spread like wildfire and people would not stop talking about or stop praising Ayaka for it. It was great somewhat but at the same tiring as some people who jokingly called her the "Kenneth slayer."

"It was pretty cool…at least when I heard about it….wish I could have seen it." She said quietly.

"Um excuse me?" Travis said, triggering a reminder for the club captain.

"O-oh right! Um…I'm Lisa. And over by that desk is mister Banblow."

"Mmh." As all the teacher said.

"And um are you sure?...It might be inconvenient for you and your friends."

"Well, it's the only way we can find members who might be Pegasus riders."

Lisa laughed uneasily. "O-oh um yeah….about that uh...um how do I word this."

Travis tilted his head. "What's wrong."

"Well there aren't...well...I'm the only member of this club." She said.

"What?" Travis asked in disbelief. _That couldn't be possible, how could anyone not join a Fire Emblem club, it's the biggest hit game!_

"You'd be surprised…" She said with a sad look. "I even participated in the club fair last year, and it really didn't make a difference...even when they signed the sheet."

"But weren't their other people before?"

"Well, they um...graduated two years ago." She sighed.

"Oh um…." Travis was a lost for word. The club was one of their only options to find other players, but now knowing this club has become a shell of its former self, making the chances to get a 4th teammate slim.

"Well this was fun, and a waste of time." Stephan said sarcastically. "At least we all tried, thank you for your time Li-"

He then got interrupted by a punch to the shoulder. "Ow, the hell!"

"You didn't have to be a jerk about it!" Ayaka scholars.

"I'm just being honest! You didn't have to hit me!"

"Your are insufferable Stephan!"

Lisa and Travis just watched as the two bickered.

"Do they always bicker?"

"You'll get used to it," Travis said. "Anyways, you play Fire Emblem right?"

"Um yeah, I do."

"Who do you main?"

"I Uh..I main Clair, a member of the resistance group called Deliverance from Echoes."

"You ride a Pegasus! Nice."

"Um thanks I guess. Though I honestly play her because I like her personality."

"She definitely has charm, I main Male Robin because I like spells."

"Well, everyone wanted to be a wizard at one point."

The two continued to ramble on and on until Travis changed the topic.

"Lisa If you have time, can we battle?"

"Um...I Uh...I'm not that good…"

"Trust me...I'm not that good either."

"Um….A..Alright, one match." Lisa sighed and pulled out her linkwave. She stared at it intently and even rubbed the dent on the top. She took a deep breath and sat down while putting on the Linkwave with Travis doing the same. The Ayaka and Stephan put their helmets on and entered spectator mode to watch the match.

Travis and Lisa began to set up their teams. Travis picked the Elthunder, Arcfire, bronze sword, and a steel sword before hitting Ready.

 **BATTLE BOARD LOCKED, PREPARE FOR WAR!**

 **THE BATTLE WILL TAKE PLACE IN.**

 **SERENES FOREST, BEGNION**

 **BATTLE BEGINS IN 5**

 **4**

 **3**

 **2**

 **1**

 **BATTLE START!**

The wind whistled through the snow-white trees devoid of life. The sky was swarmed with thick clouds, so thick that the sunlight could not penetrate. The earth was pitch black, nothing could grow in it, not even the weeds could grow in the cold lifeless woods. Robin climbed up a large rock to get a better look at the sky. He was on alert of any kind of a flying Pegasus that will pick him off from the air. The branches were dried as bones and lacked any kind of green, making any kind of hiding spot impossible. Travis has to keep moving and hid behind a boulder. He wondered to himself, how long have I been running? He checked his clock on his hud which says 53:45. _So far seven minutes have passed, but for some reason, I haven't heard any horse sounds or even a flap of a wing._

The grass rustled behind the rock, Robin pulled out his Elthunder tome. _Looks like the Pegasus couldn't find me from the sky and decided to search for me on ground._ Suddenly the footsteps stopped. The enemy must have found him! Robin breathed deeply, his hand began to spark. Even though it gave away his position, he needed to charge the electricity to make the first strike. Robin jumped from the boulder and pointed his finger at his assailant. However, he noticed something strange about his opponent. There was no Pegasus, instead, there was an exhausted rider with blonde ragged hair with a metal headband and dress like armor. She was panting, gasping for air. Poor girl, just how long had she on foot for?

Travis deactivates his lightning, eyes flashing with concern. "Um...Lisa, are you alright?"

The Pegasus rider took a deep breath and regained her composure, standing up with a proud smile. "Lisa? Who is this Lisa you speak of?" She questioned. "I am Clair, you may address me as "Lady Clair" or "Milady!"

 _Did she just roleplay? Never mind that, why did she seek me by running around?_ Travis thought. "Why didn't you use your Pegasus? You would have had an easier time finding me by air."

The question caused Clair to turn hesitant, and looked away from Robin.

"I did use my Pegasus!...It's was...um...it's was difficult to see through all the trees that's all!"

"But there are barely any trees in the forest to cover me, and even if there were, the branches wouldn't be enough to camouflage me."

Clair went silent, showing an uneasy feeling of having Logic.

"You can't fly, can you?"

Clair's smile began to twitch. "What! Of course, I can!...it's just that flying is..is beneath my standards that's all!"

"Yeah, I don't think Clair would think that. I think that she would praise the sky than walking on the same ground as commoners."

"Ugh! Enough talk! Have at you!" She shouted in annoyance and thrust her spear at Robin. Her attack was sluggish that it gave him a chance paired this his tome. Clair tripped past Robin but retained her ground and charged at Robin. The tactician easily anticipated her slash downwards and he deflected with the tome again. This caused Clair to stumble backward and off the cliff her climbed before. There was a scream followed by a couple of hit and cracks. Robin ran towards the edge to see what remains of his opponent. He winced to see the mangled and bloody Clair, lying lifeless on the ground.

 **GAME END  
**

 ****Stephan and Ayaka removed their Linkwaves and looked at Lisa with interest.

"What kind of Pegasus rider doesn't fly a pegasus?" Stephan asked.

"Nevermind that, that fighting style is so….wow."

Lisa was the last one to pull off her helmet and looked at the ground in shame.

"I told you I wasn't good enough." She groaned. "E-everything that happens is by sheer luck! I couldn't even help my team get first place!"

Travis paused, not sure what else to say. Admittedly, he wasn't that good either. Even though he has been playing for 4 years, it had its ups and downs. He would either be triumphant, or he could get his head cut clean. Though compared to her during that battle, he was like a champion, but just handed out to him instead of earned.

Travis then tried to change the subject. "So, you tried entering the tournament?"

"Yeah…" She sighed. "But I was mostly just along for the ride. Everyone carried me…..I couldn't even fight to save my own life…"

"You know, that's kind of sad." Stephan got elbowed by Ayaka.

"He's right though...I was the reason my team lost so many times... I'm surprised that we made it to second or fourth place."

"Um, Lisa, don't take anything Stephan says personally," Ayaka advised. "He's an idiot."

"Hey!" Stephan growled, he then looked back at Lisa. "But seriously, if no one wanted to join, wouldn't it be best to close it down?"

"I could...but I don't want to." Lisa looked at the trophies. "After my team graduated...they wanted to close down the club due to the lack of activity. But I said I wanted to keep it alive as a memory….So they..gave me the title of captain in the club."

Lisa got up from the table and began to pack her things. "You should probably look for a different Fire Emblem club….your not going to get anything out of this."

The three watched her leave the club in silence.

"Well..that was awkward…" Stephan said.

"Well maybe if you didn't act like an ass, it wouldn't be."

Travis thought about Lisa, her story and what happened. Her suggestion to find another club? The only Fire Emblem club is her's and club outside of school either required to drive or you had to be 18 or over. He studied the situation of obtaining a fourth member and came to one conclusion.

"I feel like we should invite her to the team," Travis said. Stephan gave him a disapproving look.

"Oh ho ho, no way, nu-uh, it's one thing to have a first-time player in our team, but having a sucky player is out of the question."

Ayaka sighed and looked at Travis. "Yeah, as much as I hate it, Stephan has a point. Lisa may be a player but her combat skills are hardly anything to desire."

"The way I see it, we don't really have much of a choice." Travis said.

"Maybe I can ask some of my kendo partners if they want to join." Ayaka suggested.

"That….actually could work."

"I'll also ask any of my coworkers if they would be willing to be our fourth." Stephan also offered.

Travis gave those two suggestions some thought. "Alright." He said. "I'll consider the ideas, but if none of those work out, Lisa will be our fourth."

One the next day, Travis was headed to the club followed by Ayaka and Stephan.

"I can't believe they said no," Stephan grumbled. "Like I was basically giving them a ticket to stardom and they just shoot it down like some pamphlet!"

"Like I said Stephan." Ayaka argued. "Not everyone plays video games on a daily basis. Though honestly, you should be proud they are doing their job, like how I'm proud of my peers that their taking school seriously!"

"Um yeah, speaking of which, didn't you join the team to play with us miss "I don't have time for video games?"

"Irk well I-I um,". She glared at him. "Look! The only reason I joined was because Travis needed help, okay! I have no interest in gaming what so ever."

"Whatever you say, Severa."

"I'm sorry, what did you call me?!"

The two continued to bicker and Travis rolled his eyes. He then entered the club room to find Lisa wearing her Linkwave. She sat there calmly, most likely in a battle that she did not hear the door open. He sat across from her not to take her by surprise from behind. Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long as Lisa pulled off her Linkwave, unaware of Travis who was in front of her.

"Another match….and the Pegasus kicked me in the head…"

"Hey." She jumped and looked at Travis.

"H-how long have you been sitting there?"

"Not too long." He said. "So how are you?"

"I'm fine….I guess." She rubbed the spot on her forehead where she was hit. "I think I'll be experiencing virtual shock for a while though."

"That's fine." He said. "I know this is so sudden, but would you like to join us?"

"W-what?" Lisa gave him a confused look. "Didn't I tell you you're waiting your time here or that I'm not that good? Besides, I hardly know you."

"I know, we tried to look for different people and most of they all said they had no interest. You're the only person to ask now. I'm not asking you for anything special, all I ask is for you to be our fourth."

As Travis held out his hand to her. Lisa looked at it with interest and slowly reached out with her own hand. As soon as she touched his fingertips she pulled away quickly.

"I-I'm sorry..". She said. "But um..can I have time to think about it?"

Travis looked disappointed but nodded. He wrote down his classroom number and handed it to her. She said her farewell and left the room. Stephen and Ayaka cape into the room after seeing her leave. "What did she say?"

"She said she'll think about it."

"Great…" Stephan groaned. "More waiting. Can't she just say yes already?"

Ayaka glared at him. "Oh quite whining. Besides, we might need to keep searching while she decides."

Travis nodded and then thought back to Lisa. _I hope She joins, but I also hope I didn't make things awkward._

 **A/N: At last, I finally made progress. Hey sorry for the lack of inactivity lately. School was kicking my ass with its assignments and I had to deal with them before I had any time to right it. I thank you guys for waiting and I hope you enjoy this. Leave a review for me with any kind of criticism you may have, I could learn from it.**


	5. The final decision

Act 5. The final decision

 _Clair sprinted through the forest, pushing any branch that blinded her. The leaves that fell off scratched her dirty face but she kept on sprinting. She wasn't sure how long she was running for but she had to get away from whatever it was that was chasing her. Her panting was hitched, and the fear made it feel uneasy to breathe. She heard the roar from behind her. She did not look back as it would only slow her down from her escape. Trees began to tumble behind her one by one, making the ground shake beneath her feet. Clair almost tripped but her hand saved her by pushing off the earth and regaining her balance. As she made her way through the woods, she saw a bright light. Was it her escape? Regardless, any light was better than being trapped in the woods with a creature hunting her._

 _But just then, a large black malformed hand smacked her off the path she was running, launching her against the tree trunk. Clair felt her head spinning, her vision was warped and could not stay in one place. She had trouble opening her eyes, and she felt something dripping down her face. The Pegasus rider placed her hand on where she was hit, only to feel a lukewarm sensation. Before she could take a look, she saw her attacker. She couldn't tell who it was because of the large misshapen arm that blocked the assailant's appearance. The only thing she could make out behind the giant gaping claw was white flowing hair before a large blue orb swirled and launched at her, engulfing her view with a bright light._

Lisa eyes shot open and looked at her surroundings. She was at her wooden desk, with books and papers scattered along with some pencils and wires. Her laptop was on, with the word document open. Her essay was incomplete, only finishing with the thesis, something about World War II. She then remembered that she was looking up about facts about the war, but she had no idea what to write. Despite looking up the facts, she had wasn't sure how to process the information in her own words. Her clocked was currently 6:46 pm; she napped for 3 hours. Lisa sighed, she had only got one part of it. She saved what she had and went on to Facebook to browse Fire Emblem cosplay.

Lisa loves cosplay, it was almost like dressing up for Halloween except not in October. It's not the usual dressing up as a ghost or a princess that can be bought in stores, the people who wear them put heart and soul into wearing them. Lisa wishes to do it someday, had she not been so preoccupied with school and homework. Her eyes scanned at the people she follows, some of them friends, others she followed for the heck of it, and others she admires. One cosplayer caught her attention. The username was Jennifer Espada Cosplays and the picture consisted of a woman with short pink hair and wearing a white customized bikini with golden accents and holding a large ring with a large ribbon attached to it. She posed as if she was dancing at the beach with the sun setting. The description said, "Danced at the beach today, lots of fun and got some shots in."

Lisa hardly resisted the urge to comment to the photo typing "You look majestic in that photo, love your Olivia cosplay!" She sent it and hit the like button. She then looked at the other comments beneath hers, most of were compliments that have not been already said, and maybe one means about how much of a "slut" she is. This one got criticism by others calling he/she any insult they could throw at them. 'Probably a troll.' She thought. She then clicked on the cosplayers profile and began to browse her uploads. To her, this Jennifer cosplayer was everything special to her. Not only was she a great cosplayer, but she also is a great player, streaming her fighting style on twitch. She dances and twirls while using a blade flawlessly. As she stared at the recent uploads of the stream, she began to think back at Travis's words. 'Should I though?'

She looked back at a photo of her old friends. They were once a team, participating in the tournament they were able to make it to. Despite being able to place 3rd or 4th, their increasingly busy schedule and school made it difficult to get any training in. In the end, the team disbanded, leaving Lisa to choose to leave as well. Ultimately, she opted to stay and keep the club running in their memory. While lonely, it was also peaceful too. Even though she couldn't really get any member into her club, she could at least relax and do her homework there or play some matches. She was also thankful for Mister Banblows uncaring attitude to let her continue to run the club.

Unfortunately, now that peaceful sanctuary is now invaded by three people she hardly knows who want her to join their team. Lisa sighed, knowing that she will have to give Travis an answer tomorrow. She went on to discord and typed to some people who she once knew, asking them to call her if they aren't too busy. After a while, the call came up and 4 screens popped up showing three familiar faces.

"Hey Lisa, what's up?" A boy with a brown beanie greeted.

"Hey, Max, James, Micaila."

"How's school treating ya?" Max asked. "Cuz college is sure a pain in the ass right now for me."

"Max, I thought I tutored you on the subject?" Micaila stated.

"Doesn't mean it's not a struggle to learn math."

"You always did manage to think with your muscles than with your head."

"Hey, It got us out of trouble many times hasn't it?"

"Fair enough," she said.

"Alright guys, I don't think we want to trouble Lisa with your love squabble," James said.

Micaila rolled her eyes and Max just snorted at him.

"Anyways," Lisa said. "I am doing okay Max, I've been catching up with my studies like always. What about you guys?"

"Well," the ginger-haired boy said. "I'm majoring in civil engineering like I wanted to, but I might come back to college to maybe major in something else."

"Why would you ever want to go back after?" Max asked. "You already got a major, you're set for life."

"That's not always the case Max." The blonde said curling her hair. "Besides, you never know what may happen if he doesn't get the job."

"Your kidding right Micaila? This is James we're talking about, guy gets like A plus's like he's getting all the chicks!"

"That's...a weird way to describe it."

"It's a lot of work Max. You'd be like me if you weren't "

Lisa gave off a small chuckle. Those three haven't changed one bit. "But anyways, I want your guys' input on what I'm going to say."

The three of them went silent to let their youngest ex-member talk about her situation.

"I was minding my own business and this guy Travis shows up and starts asking me to join his team….but I'm not too sure if I should."

"Travis...Travis." Max thought for a second. "Wait, isn't Travis that prick who kept talking like he was hit shit or something?"

"That's Kenneth...Max." Micaila corrected making the beanie wearer shrug.

"Aside from the strange invite, What's stopping you from accepting it?" James asked.

"It's um…well...I mean…it was so sudden...plus..if I joined..that would mean leaving my old team to start a new one."

"Lisa...were no longer a team, you do realize that."

"She means that she would have to mentally adjust to being on a new team. Even though we disbanded, her heart and soul is still connected to it." The blonde explained.

"Lisa, I understand that we meant a lot for you. But you shouldn't let that hold you back from what you love."

"I know James...but.."

"No buts, you need to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people. This may sound mean, but even after graduating, I don't think We will be able to reunite as a team again. We all have busy lives now as adults. I'm becoming a civil engineer, Micaila is going to be a doctor, and Max might have to move away to another college to complete his calculus major."

Much to her dismay, James was right. All of them started to separate after graduation. It will continue to do so and there isn't much they can do about it.

"However, that shouldn't mean that you have to stop what you love while you're young." He said. "Your main is Clair, right? We have played for a long time and we watched you grow not as a player, but as a person too. Sure it wasn't easy, but you were never the one to back out of the team. Right now, I believe it is time to grow back your wings Lisa, and soar back into the air with your friends."

Lisa flinched at the flying part of his motivational speech, but at the same time, it was also very comforting that her old friends still support her.

"What James said, you should join this new team, and we will support your decision."

"Let us know when you make it to U.S championship, we want to see the faces of those twins when they get wrecked by you." Max then mumbled something under his breath, something about cheaters.

Lisa nodded and prepared to log off. "Thanks, guys...it was also great talking to you three again."

The call ended and then she went back to opening her word document to continue working on her essay with a smile filled with determination.

* * *

The bell rang and Lisa immediately headed for the door. She pulled out her note that told her the location of the room. 'Room 2-6, it should be down the hallway.'

Eventually, she saw the numbers and the opened door. Travis was there talking to Ayaka and Stephan. After taking a deep breath, she walked up to him.

"Excuse me?"

Travis turned his attention to her and so did the other two. She was unnerved by Ayaka's glare and Stephan's eye rolling. But Travis looked at her with curiosity like a child waiting for his parents to say yes or no. She exhaled and gave her the final answer. "I thought about it...and I want to join your team….well...unless you have a fourth already…."

'What kind of answer was that' She thought to herself. 'I rehearsed it all morning!'

However, Travis gave a smile while Stephan threw his arms up with disappointment and Ayaka sighed.

"Welcome to the team, Lisa."

"I promise...I-I won't disappoint you."

"Yeah, you won't," Ayaka said to Lisa with a stern look. "Because if you want to be a good fighter, then you better be prepared for the training I will be giving!"

Lisa gave off a scared face. 'What did I get myself into?!'

Travis laughed uneasily as Stephan scoffed.

"A flightless Pegasus and a hot-headed Samurai...What could possibly go wrong." He muttered.


End file.
